Achieve with us.

PERSONNEL & VOLUNTEER

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Kate Rollason, Executive Director

The Arc Central Chesapeake Region

Agenda

Personnel Policies What does your staff need to know?

Is your current policy outdated?

Do you have the latest information and requirements?

What are the steps to a successful policy?

How do we implement this policy?

Volunteer Policies When to have a volunteer policy?

Why have a volunteer policy?

What your policy should have.

How do we implement this policy?

A nonprofit's relationship to its employees and

volunteers is fundamental to its ability to achieve its

mission. Volunteers occupy a special place in

nonprofit organizations, serving in governance,

administrative and programmatic capacities. An

organization's human resource policies should

address both paid employees and volunteers, and

should be fair, establish clear expectations, and

provide for meaningful and effective performance

evaluation.

Human Resources

A policy is a temporary creed liable to be changed, but while it holds good it has got to be pursued with apostolic zeal.

Mohandas Gandhi

Personnel Policies

What does your staff need to know?

Benefits

Sick Leave/Vacation

Grievance Procedures

Working Conditions

Evaluation

Supervision – Hiring and Firing

Confidentiality

Is your current policy outdated?

When was the last time your personnel

policies were reviewed and approved by your

board of directors? 3 years, 5 years, more?

Employment laws change frequently.

Personnel policies should be reviewed every 3

years.

Final review should be done by an attorney

for labor and employment.

Do you have the latest information

and requirements?

For Federal compliance you can visit www.dol.gov/compliance.

For local compliance please visit your State Department of Labor website.

You may also ask a local Arc in your state for a sample of their policies but it is not recommended. While learning from or adapting your colleagues’ practices is frequently an effective strategy for nonprofit organizations, it is not recommended for personnel policies. In many cases, what is borrowed may not be well written, appropriate for the circumstances of the organization or correct under the law. Precise language is important in employee handbooks so as not to convey more rights to the employees than is intended.

What are the steps to a successful

policy?

Review

Obtain Management Support – it is very

important to have Management support to

lead and put into effect this policy.

Legal Review

Board Approved

Implement

How do we implement this policy?

After it has been approved by your attorney

and your full board of directors this policy is

ready to be put in to place.

Start by having new employees sign off at

their orientation.

Save money on postage and have employees

sign off at open enrollment.

The road to success is not crowded. Because while most are looking for ways to take, the truly successful people are finding ways to give. With a giving attitude, every situation is an opportunity for success." - Unknown

Volunteer Policies

When to have a volunteer policy?

Depending on the size and nature of the organization, it may be possible to get along without a formal volunteer policy. And it is important to have a proportionate level of formality so as not to put potential volunteers off volunteering for the organization.

However, a volunteer policy provides a useful framework setting out what needs to be in place to support a project or organization that involves volunteers.

Why have a volunteer policy?

As the organization gets bigger or increases the number and range of volunteer roles and opportunities, a policy is helpful. It pulls together all the various policies and procedures that affect volunteers - recruitment, expenses, health and safety and so on. It will ensure consistency and sets out what volunteers can expect from the organization and what their responsibilities are.

Having a volunteer policy that is reviewed and updated on a regular basis demonstrates good practice.

What your policy should have.

agency philosophy on involving volunteers

objectives for involving volunteers

who will be responsible for the volunteer program

how volunteers will be managed

rights and responsibilities of volunteers

adherence to the agencies’ Code of Conduct

what constitutes a volunteer position

selecting, inducting, recruiting and training volunteers

recognizing, supporting and evaluating volunteers

workplace health and safety standards

information on insurance coverage for volunteers and

maintaining documentation and record keeping.

How do we implement this policy?

After the policy has been approved by the full board of directors this policy is ready to be put into place.

Start by having new volunteers sign off when they come in to be interviewed.

Mail current volunteers the policy with a self addressed, stamped envelope to return the signed copy back to you. A cover letter would be nice to explain why you are now have a volunteer policy.

Thank you for joining me today.

If you need a copy of this PowerPoint

please email me at

krollason@thearcccr.org